Fire and Flames
by Vanestea
Summary: A book of drabbles containing Zuko/OC. To be updated every so often.
1. Sunk

"I will remain behind with the Prince."

"Have you forgotten what I've said? All of the crew is to come with the Admiral."

Strands of the female's dark brown hair framed her face. She stood from the table, and the air around her suddenly became dense.

"Last time I checked, I have reign over my actions as a soldier."

Admiral Zhao narrowed his eyes.

"Miss, I-"

"Enough!"

Flames burst from the noble-woman's hands and scorched the rough dirt that rested on the tent floor. The men in the room shrunk away to avoid the woman's hard emerald gaze and blind fury.

"I will remain behind with the Prince. And that, I daresay, is a finite order, Admiral Zhao."

The admiral stuttered, and thought for a moment, before bowing his head to the lady. "Very well."

Iroh glanced hesitantly in her direction, but did not interfere. It was the lady's decision, and not theirs.

The ship was dead silent that night. Ported at the dock, the brunette stepped onto the deck, her boots clacked against the metal hull. From the corner of her eye, she spotted two figures at the front of the boat. Yuying stepped towards them, and caught Zuko's glance as soon as she was within earshot. The plump man speaking to him glanced over his shoulder at her with a downcast look. The expression on the prince's face was complex, anger and sadness and hope all at the same time.

With a rough scratchiness to his voice, the teen kept her gaze. "You stayed?"

The corners of her lips curved slightly upwards as she stopped next to the two men. Straightening her stance and bringing her palm upwards to her forehead in mock salute, she smiled sadly at him.

The prince examined her comical stance, his own scorn look slightly changing to an amused smirk. Uncle Iroh smiled at the girl and patted her on both arms with his gentle hands.

"Yuying, it brings me great joy that you choose to stand alongside of my nephew. He will need your patience."

The girl scoffed and chuckled. "Definitely. Especially since he lacks such."

The Fire Nation elder and the girl laughed wholeheartedly as Zuko scowled.

The laughing died down to silence again. The three remained in silence. Iroh glanced up at the two teens, and something glittered in his eyes.  
>"Uncle...I'll be fine."<p>

The man shook his head and rubbed at his eye.

"Take care, Zuko. Have a safe trip."

Zuko nodded to him, and the older man turned towards Yuying.

"My dear, take care as well. Remain vigilant."

"Right." The brunette nodded definitely, and shared a brief hug with the man she had come to love as her own Uncle.

Uncle Iroh offered the two of them to take a walk with him. Zuko refused, as did Yuying (albeit more politely). The former war general left the ship, whistling a tune. If one thing was certain, it was that not much seemed to bother that man.

The brunette girl watched the man off with a small smile as she considered that thought, never feeling the glance on her. When she came to from her thoughts, she realized that she was alone on deck.

Without the rest of the soldiers on deck with her, she could really feel the size of the ship. Empty without the soldiers and friends she had come to call close to kin.  
>Yuying shook her head and retreated to the inside of the ship, rubbing her arms against the night chill. Walking down the halls, she noticed the light streaming through an open door down one hallway.<p>

Now not that she was psychic or anything, but a certain fellow fire bender might make better company to her and her to him in this time of shock and helplessness.  
>When she peeked her head into the prince's quarter's, she could see him clearly laying down on his bed in a thoughtful stupor. She cleared her throat, earning a daze glance in her direction. He sat upright and stared at her. Until the boy raised his eyebrow as to question why she hadn't entered.<p>

When she did enter, she paused at a five foot distance from the teen to judge the waters. When his gaze didn't shrink back or the distance didn't cause him to snap a sarcastic or furious comment, she sat beside the prince on the edge of his mattress.

"...why did you stay?" He asked flatly, staring down at the floor.

She blinked, then Yuying sat back to lean on her hands and ponder. Why had she decided to stay? Certainly not civil obligation.

The girl came up with her answer and leaned forward to match his pose. "I've stuck with you this long. Nothing Admiral Zhao offers me could ever fulfill my dreams of bringing that slime down." Her hand came up to grip his shoulder in a reassuring grasp. His amber eyes searched her face for any more information he could dig from her emotions, but he didn't find much else. He intently listened as she continued her thought.

"And...well..." Yuying scratched the back of her neck and looked away from him, feeling the blushing rising up her neck. "I swore all those years ago that I was always gonna be at your side...so..."

Zuko's eyebrows knitted together for a moment as he wracked his mind for that memory before a smile came over him. He glanced up at the ceiling and shook his head with a laugh. The prince was very aware of the weight now against his arm as the Lady noble rested against him. The blush too rose up his neck, but he tried his hardest to ignore it.

"Thanks, Yu. You're...a...real friend."

"...and don't you forget it, princey-pants." She grinned, squeezing his side. He jerked away from her squeeze and chuckled quietly. The two of them shared a smile, and something clicked between them. Their smiles dropped and yet they continued to exchange glances.

Zuko suddenly sighed, "Yuying...I-"

His words were cut short when the two of them heard a loud thump from above. Their faces tilted upwards, before they sprang into action. The prince led the way out of the room, positioned for fire bending. The lady's back was a few inches from the prince as she covered the area on his other side.

After a series of weird noises they moved quickly through the ship, ultimately both finding the navigation room. They shared confused but cautious glances and searched out the window for any intruders.

It was Zuko who saw the bird.

It was Zuko who shouted the word.

It was Zuko who leapt to the lady's side and held her against him as the ship imploded and engulfed them in flames. The lady screamed as the fire burnt her skin and left her scarred, and the two teens flew out of the window and onto the ignited deck.

Pirates.

The boy struggled long and hard through the pain to move, and after nudging and almost pleading for Yuying to regain consciousness, the girl came to. With Zuko's help, the injured girl latched onto the boy to steady his imbalance and to let her ease up on her injured leg.

The teens launched themselves overboard, into the darkness below the flaming ship.


	2. Full Moon

"Yu! Yu!"

In a patch of grass not far off from the fire nation ship engulfed in flames, the two teens resurfaced with most aid from Prince Zuko. The harbour lapped at the shore and constantly licked the prince's heels, and the grass on the steep slope shuffled as the older plump man made haste to their location. Placing her on the ground as gingerly as possible, Zuko hung over the brunette girl. Her long hair had fallen from her usual ponytail and was slick with salt water against the sand. Uncle Iroh met the boy, frantic and worried.

"Zuko! Zuko..." The man embraced the boy as he leaned over the girl and gave him a fond look. "I thought..."

"Uncle...she won't wake up!"

The banished prince shook his fellow fire bender by the shoulders as she rested on the ground. She did not respond, her peaceful expression tainted by the horrible burns on her cheek, nose, and forehead. An open gash bled through her uniform pant leg, the blood colouring the sand from her left leg. The tide rose and fell, swallowing the blood dripping onto the sand and cleansing it in its wake.

"We may have to cauterize the wound...she's losing too much blood." The older man's eyebrows knitted as he knelt down to the ground. He placed his hand on Yuying's upper thigh before Zuko quickly intervened.

"But...she'll be in a lot of pain!" He protested.

"If we do not, she will die! Will you let your rescue and reunion last for nothing?" The older man retorted back. The two men glanced down in surprise as the girl slowly came to, emerald eyes drowning in agony.

Her green orbs travelled up to the prince's face, then to Uncle Iroh's distressed expression.

"Yuying, my dear, can you understand me?"

"...yes, Uncle."

"You are loosing too much blood. We must cauterize your leg..."

A flash flickered through her eyes at the mention of the procedure. But once before she had seen the procedure done, without numbing medication. Her own father and tribe members had gone through the very same circumstances.

The flicker disappeared and she nodded. Zuko bit his lip, and closed his eyes. He heard his Uncle ignite his palm, and had to turn his face in the oppose direction when Yuying's blood curdling screams shook his very soul.

She squirmed and cried, screaming as the wound slowly began to close and the stench of burning flesh lingered in the air. Uncle Iroh leaned back and tried his best to hold the glance of her broken spirit. Zuko had stood from his kneel and paced painfully slow in the sand nearby. His fists were balled in fury and restless shame-he could do nothing to help her in her pain. Wincing at her screams, the irritated boy shot fire from his curled back lips and shouted to the stars.

"He tried to have us killed! That bastard will answer to me!"

Yuying heaved and wheezed, gripping at the grass and pulling out handfuls. Uncle Iroh tried to calm her down with a soft tune as he held her healing leg.

Then something ran through her hair, and her grip relaxed.

Zuko sat at her head and gently combed his fingers through her hair. After his fit, he had still come to his long time companion's aid. She stopped wheezing, and slowly began to breath again through her stream of tears.

The boy glanced down at her. Iroh looked on the two teens with worry and care. Injured Yuying set her eyes to the moon above, the waxy body in the sky slowly becoming a full circle in the starry sheet above.

"...the moon grows full. We...must stop Admiral Zhao."

Uncle Iroh glanced up at the moon as well, and nodded as he stroked his beard. "I have a plan."


	3. Childhood

"Let's play a game."

The young boy gave his sister a dirty glare from the tranquil palace pathway. He avoided her glare and the questioning glares of her little friends.

"We don't want to play with you, Azula."

The brunette girl walking next to him blinked owlishly at the other girls. Her green eyes met the amber orbs of Princess Azula and she felt the electricity of her mischief staring back at her. She shrunk beside Zuko and ignored the other girls.

Princess Ursa looked on from nearby, and urged Zuko to go play with his sister. Yu stayed behind as the boy begrudging went to join his sister's friends. She played with her robe and twirled the fabric in her fingers. A gentle hand rubbed her back as the princess knelt down to her side.

"What do you say, Yuying, why don't you go play with your friend Zuko? He'd enjoy your company."

The little girl glanced up at her with wide eyes, blinking in protest. "B-but...Azula is always mean to me..."

Ursa giggled softly and reassured the girl again. "I'm sure Zuko will protect you."

The black-haired boy glanced back at the shy little girl. He ran back to her side and grabbed her by the wrist. "Come on Yu! Let's be on the same team!"

Ursa stood up from her crouched position and watched her son and the young girl with a happy smile. Duchess Jun Rei joined her at her side, and giggled to herself.

"Well, Ursa, I wouldn't be surprised if the talk of grandchildren crosses your mind."

Ursa chuckled as well, and carefully watched the children as they played a game of tag. "Neither would I. Zuko has taken quite a liking to Yuying."

The duchess nodded, then added more. "It seems so, however that noblewoman's daughter seems to have Zuko in favour as well. It'll be an interesting battle for sure."

"You're it, Dumb-head. You can't move now."

"Oof!"

The little brunette girl fell to the ground. More importantly, she was shoved into the side of the fountain and therefore fell into the ground when Azula "tagged" her. Falling to the ground, she clutched her knee and felt little tears prickle her eyes. Nearby, Zuko had been frozen as well. His amber eyes shifted to glance at Yuying as she sniffled.

While Azula and her friends laughed at Zuko and Yuying's expenses, the boy slowly shifted to her side where the girl was softly crying.

"Yu...are you okay?"

"Sniff...I scraped my knee, Zuky."

The prince examined her scrapped knee with a frown. He sat back on his rump, and gently ran his fingers through strands of her long hair.

"It'll be okay, Yu. Azula is such a jerk."

Even in those days, the prince knew how to make her feel better.


End file.
